Airplane For Sale Aeronca 7AC

[Victor Bravo]

Anyone who complains about the Champ's cable brakes has never had to deal with the Taylorcraft's cable brakes!

I want you all to imagine pushing with your heels so hard that the rear seat cross-tube is denting your spine, and your butt is lifted off the seat cushions....

 

[BJC]

Anyone who complains about the Champ's cable brakes

I hear you, VB.

Just for the record, I wasn’t complaining. Just pointing out that with some aircraft, it may be necessary to make a 270 to the right to go left.

Newbies see that and wonder what the heck. Old timers just nod in understanding.

BJC

 

[Victor Bravo]

...and furthermore, there is a very mysterious phenomenon that has yet to be explained. You can put the heel brake pedals of a Champ, a Cub, and a T-craft side by side on a bench. They are all equal. But when you install them in their respective airplanes, the ones in the Taylorcraft get so much smaller that your shoes slip off them!

 

[jedi]

Off topic warning - Are you saying that those great old aircraft are not as great as we remember them? I guess their is room for improvement.

From Aircraft Design Aerodynamics ...
Doodles Without Numbers #63

Radicaldude1234 said:


"Just artwork without the pressure of technical claims, details, etc.

'

I'll start

Something fast
View attachment 116789

Isn’t redesigning those old airplanes a bit like reinventing the wheel?

It’s not that I am against redesigning the wheel. I think it is about time the wheel had a major redesign.

It is about defining the problem. Tell me again. What is the goal here?

Something fast doesn’t really define a mission. Without a defined mission you are not designing, you are.daydreaming.

That’s ok. Have fun. Just realize what you are doing. I think I may be getting a wake up call here also.

 

[blane.c]

...and furthermore, there is a very mysterious phenomenon that has yet to be explained. You can put the heel brake pedals of a Champ, a Cub, and a T-craft side by side on a bench. They are all equal. But when you install them in their respective airplanes, the ones in the Taylorcraft get so much smaller that your shoes slip off them!

Mostly I wore "BUNNY BOOTS"
Amazon.com: Bata Military Bunny Boots Extreme Cold Weather Vapor Barrier Boots - 8 : Everything Else

I still have a pair that I bought new around 30 years ago, I only use them when I need them and are still nearly as new. Of course when I was working I wore out many pairs. Because they are so durable, solid rubber inside and out "THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE".

 

[BJC]

Are you saying that those great old aircraft are not as great as we remember them? I guess their is room for improvement.

Lets just say that they had character.


BJC

 

[blane.c]

The screws fell out a lot, not the major ones but the minor ones were constantly missing and needing replaced. Where did they go?

 

[dee_bee_que]

Indeed, every cable/mechanical brakes I've flown I always wanted to convert to hydraulic brakes.

Cable brakes are (or at least used to be) on the list of maintenance items an owner could perform. Any work involving hydraulic lines requires a certificated mechanic.

 

[dee_bee_que]

Can you explain your thoughts on this? Seems like both are dirt simple.

The Cub was designed as a parasol. The turtle deck is a separate-- lighter weight so not structurally redundant, but 50% or so duplicate-- structure atop the frame. As stated above, more parts.

 

[Rhino]

The screws fell out a lot, not the major ones but the minor ones were constantly missing and needing replaced. Where did they go?

Probably to my place. I always have extra screws showing up.

 

[BJC]

The screws fell out a lot,

My first airplane had that problem. I fixed the problem by adding Teflon tape to the sheet metal screws. Seems counter-intuitive, but the Teflon dampened the vibration enough to stop the screws from backing out.


BJC

 

[pfarber]

Completely agree. Its a soulful rag and tube airplane that can be aquired and maintained by the average joe for a reasonable cost.

Oh, and unlike 90% of the content on this "homebuilt" site lately, it ACTUALLY EXISTS!

<The voice of reason>

The average Joe cannot restore this AC. First, you need all certified parts, that means manuals. Then you're gonna need the worlds most generous AI to fill out the 337s that you are going to generate... not to mention the self produced items that will need a sign off.

The average Joe does not have the previous experience to work fabric, nor wood repairs. 99% of the A&Ps can't work fabric or wood repairs (see FAR 65.81):

"However, he may not supervise the maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alteration of, or approve and return to service, any aircraft or appliance, or part thereof, for which he is rated unless he has satisfactorily performed the work concerned at an earlier date."

At best the unless the 'average Joe' had a rather large pile of money they want to turn into a significantly SMALLER pile of money this is not a realistic project.

Lastly, the cost of recovering, paint, return to service and annual would be double or more the cost of an already flying project.

</The voice of reason>

 

[bmcj]

I wore out many pairs. Because they are so durable

Isn’t that statement self-contradictory?

 

[dwalker]

<The voice of reason>

The average Joe cannot restore this AC. First, you need all certified parts, that means manuals. Then you're gonna need the worlds most generous AI to fill out the 337s that you are going to generate... not to mention the self produced items that will need a sign off.

The average Joe does not have the previous experience to work fabric, nor wood repairs. 99% of the A&Ps can't work fabric or wood repairs (see FAR 65.81):

"However, he may not supervise the maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alteration of, or approve and return to service, any aircraft or appliance, or part thereof, for which he is rated unless he has satisfactorily performed the work concerned at an earlier date."

At best the unless the 'average Joe' had a rather large pile of money they want to turn into a significantly SMALLER pile of money this is not a realistic project.

Lastly, the cost of recovering, paint, return to service and annual would be double or more the cost of an already flying project.

</The voice of reason>

I seriously considered buying this, but my A&P buddy cannot commit the time needed to get the plane restored. And by the time I paid my mechanic buddy the pittance he asked for, bought the parts, and got it in paint I could almost go buy a flying bird. I really wanted it though, and also looked into taking it experimental, but not worth it long run.

 

[dee_bee_que]

I wore out many pairs. Because they are so durable...

Isn’t that statement self-contradictory?

Not in my opinion. Something has to both function and last a while in order to get "worn out." Other things just break and get s***canned.

Someone had a post somewhere a while back that pointed out that the Major League pitcher who had the most losses played in the "bigs" for about 16 years or so. He had to have shown some promise in order to get enough starts to have the most losses.

.

 

[blane.c]

Some things that come to mind about the airknocker, the baggage compartment that little basically fitted bag behind the back seat was originally made of cotton. While at this time they likely all have been modified/replaced it is worth noting that the cotton eventually rots, so things like say that little fuel checker we all used to have with the screwdriver end can fall through the rotten cotton bag and end up under the floor. There are several documented instances were the control system got jammed by objects like this. The copper line from the fuel primer to the firewall can work harden and break, I spent much of a return to home flight with my thumb covering the leak. Also the primer lines to the engine often break off and cause a lean cylinder, I used to keep ferules like these ( 1-4-3-8-1-2-Brass-Air-Brake-Copper-Tubing-Brass-Compression-Sleeve-Ferrules.jpg (1000×1000) (alicdn.com) ) in the glove box so if during preflight one of the lines was discovered broken it was simple to fix and the flight was not ruined or unnecessarily delayed. The radio (handheld?) will not work with stock ignition. The ignition if not already done must be modified with either resistance spark plugs (easiest/cheapest) or resistance ignition leads or all you will hear in the radio is staccato that Varey's directly with engine RPM.

Allegedly Someone I resemble dropped below the tree line in his airknocker and faced a Bull Moose at the other end of a beautiful meadow, The Moose looked like it could take on a freight train and win, discretion dictated a shallow turn and modest climb, R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

 

[blane.c]

Isn’t that statement self-contradictory?

I worked for 30 years in a environment ... well I have literally seen on several occasions persons getting off the plane gathering there luggage going to the door ... the door opens ... they turn around, go to the ticket agent and book the next flight out.

 

[pfarber]

I seriously considered buying this, but my A&P buddy cannot commit the time needed to get the plane restored. And by the time I paid my mechanic buddy the pittance he asked for, bought the parts, and got it in paint I could almost go buy a flying bird. I really wanted it though, and also looked into taking it experimental, but not worth it long run.

Its rare to find an A&P with AI (again, those 337s) that will have fabric and wood 7AC experience. Im sure there are some specialists out there, but I don't see them hand holding someone for the year or two of full time work this will take.

I have yet to find these magical mx's that are supervising these randos as they rebuild certified AC.

If you do, play the lottery every day they supervise your work.... You will be the luckiest person alive

 

[dwalker]

Its rare to find an A&P with AI (again, those 337s) that will have fabric and wood 7AC experience. Im sure there are some specialists out there, but I don't see them hand holding someone for the year or two of full time work this will take.

I have yet to find these magical mx's that are supervising these randos as they rebuild certified AC.

If you do, play the lottery every day they supervise your work.... You will be the luckiest person alive

Yeah, maybe two years ago he would have had enough weekend and evening time for the project, but in the brief "what if" conversation we had it is clear he has no time at all these days as like everyone else they are backed up and have a row of planes waiting. That has pretty much killed this for me. Still super cool.

 

[Fiberglassworker]

Its rare to find an A&P with AI (again, those 337s) that will have fabric and wood 7AC experience. Im sure there are some specialists out there, but I don't see them hand holding someone for the year or two of full time work this will take.

I have yet to find these magical mx's that are supervising these randos as they rebuild certified AC.

If you do, play the lottery every day they supervise your work.... You will be the luckiest person alive

As an airframe mechanic with extensive wood and fabric experience I would often find myself called upon to carry out wood and fabric repairs to these aircraft by AI's who would watch very carefully to learn what I did. The most common aircraft were Champ and Citabria And the occasional super cub, in addition to the wood and fabric gliders I usually did.